


The Anarchal Initiative

by Cherumie



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:40:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25071784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cherumie/pseuds/Cherumie
Summary: Oblivious to the inner conspiracy at dispatch due to her relationship with her boss, Grelle Sutcliff is thrown into a life changing mystery involving indivisible corpses, haunting figures, and impatient demons.
Relationships: William T. Spears/Grell Sutcliff
Comments: 16
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said I'd post more? Here's my first actual story! Who knows how many chapters it'll end up being, but I plan to make it lengthy.
> 
> This idea came to me in a dream and I immediately wrote almost three chapters as soon as I woke up at 6am. I'll post more as I write them :)

"Good morning, Will!" Chirped Grelle Sutcliff as she walked into dispatch at 7:00am sharp. She was supposed to arrive at 6:00 like every other reaper, but her superior knew better than to expect punctuality from her at this point.

"Sutcliff." He droned, obviously in a bit of a mood despite the emptiness of his coffee cup. William handed her a folder with her daily duties inside and she took it just as she did every other morning.

"Can I expect a visit from you in the later hours today, my prince?" She cooed while batting her lashes at him.

"Don't say that as if it's ever happened before. Someone might hear you and misunderstand." He waved her off and got back to his own work. She apparently took mercy on him this particular morning, and headed towards the door. But before she touched the handle, she hesitated, and spoke once more.

"Hey, Will?"

"Mm."

"Wait for me after work? I have something to give you." She said, uncharacteristically quiet. William spared her a glance and found her still facing the door as if she didn't want him to see her face.

"Sure." He said, simply. She beamed at this, looking over her shoulder and giving him one last smile.

"I'll see you then, darling!" She finally turned the doorknob and finally left him to his work, a noticeable skip in her step. William smiled to himself when he was by himself again. He wondered what she was planning to give him and dearly hoped that it was work appropriate.

Grelle smiled as she walked to her desk, greeting everyone she passed along the way. Today was a special day! One might've thought she'd be depressed that William had forgotten about their anniversary of becoming reapers, but she expected this. She knew her man cared, he was just so swamped with work that he couldn't be bothered to remember dates like this. It went like this every year; him forgetting, her surprising him, him giving her a different kind of gift in return that night in apology for forgetting. Grelle was beside herself with excitement. She had picked out just the perfect gift this year too! But the fun had to wait for after work. She had promised Will since they had started dating to take her work seriously because it was important to him. Just like affection and romance, inside or outside of their home was important to her. Her and Will were opposites in a lot of ways, but they really did love each other so they made it work. Speaking of work-

Grelle sat down in her plush red office chair and took a quick look through the day's reaps. A few hungry children, a few old men, a robbery gone wrong- nothing new. It seemed as if the day would go smoothly for her so she could have her night with William and she silently thanked god for this. The last thing she needed today was trouble.

Her first real was in 2 hours time, so she figured she might as well go ahead and find the poor thing before they expired. It was always better for a reaper to observe their target a bit before their death. The longer the better. It wasn't required, but she didn't have anything better to do and was too antsy to just sit around her office for a few minutes. She headed to general affairs to retrieve her deathscythe.

"Hey, Senior!" Called Ronald from across the room as she was walking. He fell into step with her and put his hand on her shoulder, giving her a playful look.

"What're you so perky for? Got a date tonight?" He teased.

"As a matter of fact," she said, giving him a wink, "I do."

Ronald, impossibly full of energy at this hour, threw his hand in the air.

"No way!" He exclaimed, earning a few glances. When she didn't play along he became more serious.

"Wait really?"

"Mmhmm~" she trilled, placing one finger on his lips. "But I can't say more than that, dear. It's a secret affair."

Ronald blew air at the finger as they approached one of the General Affairs windows. Grelle signed her name on the clipboard and handed it to the woman behind the glass, who pushed her chainsaw through the hole between them without a word. Ronald did the same. She cradled her scythe as if it were a baby as her Junior picked up his own scythe. Ron gave her a look.

"Well, I won't tell the boss if you keep you-know-what a secret."

Grelle rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes, for the hundredth time, I couldn't care less about your women problems. Your secret remains safe with me."

"Thanks, Senior," Ronald gave her a charming smile & turned towards his office. "Welp, I'd better get going. See you."

Grelle waved at him and headed towards the human world for her first assignment of the day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to post chapter 2 early since the first one was so short and uneventful. Enjoy :3

“Young Master, a letter has arrived.” Said the butler named Sebastian Michaelis as he stepped halfway into his master’s office. Ciel looked up from his work.

“I’m guessing it’s important if you’re bringing it to me personally.” He sat back in his leather chair and beckoned his butler inside. “Go ahead and read it to me then.”

Sebastian stepped inside, and retrieved a nearby letter opener. He broke the wax seal on the envelope and retrieved the letter inside. He read it aloud:

“‘Greetings to my dearest little boy,

I’m afraid that something terrible has afflicted this country once again. Several corpses have washed up in the country from men and women who bear wounds incapable of being inflicted by modern weapons. Not only that, but they are unidentifiable. Their faces are unharmed, but not even the royal family’s ties can place their names or families. The most concerning part is that they cannot be autopsied. Their bodies simply do not yield to any blade, no matter the size or sharpness. I am not sure if they are human. Please investigate this matter and put a stop to these indivisible corpses.

With Love, Queen Victoria’”

“Indivisible corpses…” muttered Ciel, thinking. He looked at his butler. “Have you ever heard of anything like this?”

“I assume you suspect my kind? Demons are able to form their bodies to be impervious to human metals, but once they die they turn to ash I’m afraid.” He said with a vague look of discomfort. “There’s only one other species I know of that is immune to normal weapons. You are very familiar with them at this point, young master.”

“Reapers..” He mumbled. He then stood up. “Sebastian.”

“Yes, my lord?”

“Prepare the carriage. We’re going to pay a visit to him.” He said with a grimace.

Senastian placed a hand over his chest and bowed.

“Indeed, my lord.”

The carriage came to a stop in front of a small shop with a sign on the door that read ‘UNDERTAKER’. Sebastian stepped down and opened the door for Ciel, who took his butler’s hand as he came out. He didn’t bother knocking, simply inviting himself in with an air of nobility.

“Undertaker!” He called to the darkened room. Even for someone like him, the shop was eerie. Cobwebs clung to nearly everything, several coffins lined the room and covered the floor, and the scurrying of rats could be heard not far away. Everything seemed to have a creepy glow about it.

Suddenly, the candles in the room lit up and a creak came from one of the coffins as it slowly opened.

“Ehehe, welcome, Earl.” Came the familiar voice of the Undertaker. “I’d been expecting you~”

He finally stepped out and revealed pink fleece pajamas and a nightcap.

“Though, admittedly, not quite this early.” He hid a snicker behind his hand, which turned into howling laughter at the look on Ciel’s face.

“Why you,” Ciel started, then exclaimed, “Put on some proper clothes!”

Undertaker wheezed and kept on, but dutifully retreated to his back room to change. When he came back a few minutes later, he was wearing his usual outfit and top hat, and carrying a tray of tea.

“So what brings you here, My Lord?” He snickered and handed the Earl a beaker of tea.

Ciel reluctantly accepted it and found a coffin to sit on..

“Don’t play dumb. You know why I’m here.”

Undertaker smiled at him.

“I suppose I do. Normally, this is the part where I ask for a laugh, but I suppose that’d be unfair wouldn’t it? Heehee~”

Ciel glared at him.

“Enough of this. What do you know about the indivisible corpses?”

“Indivisible corpses, huh? A rather fitting name, I think. Bodies showing up with no life, no names, and no one to mourn for them. I was actually given one myself due to my many connections. Would you like to see?” He smiled eerily. Ciel remained unfazed.

“Show them to me.”

“Very well,” He said, “But I’ll need you to step aside for me first.”

Ciel got up and found with barely concealed horror that his suspicions of there being corpses inside of the coffins were correct as Undertaker opened his seat up for him. He peered inside and saw the body of a woman with chestnut brown hair falling to her mid back and a pained look on her face. She was wearing a familiar suit, round, purple spectacles, and gloves. Her throat had been slashed. 

“I suppose you weren’t able to perform an autopsy either?” He said. Covering his nose.

“Nope, not even a nick. It’s strange to me, though, because her throat seems to have been cut wide open, but my sharpest scalpel doesn’t phase her. Veery strange, indeed.”

Ciel took a step back.

“I've seen enough. Come, Sebastian.” He began towards the door. Sebastian followed wordlessly. Undertaker chuckled and waved after them.

Once they were outside, Ciel spoke.

“So that was…” He trailed off.

“Definitely a reaper.” Confirmed Sebastian. “This might just be beyond us, young master.”

Ciel grimaced and got back inside of the carriage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment~!


	3. Chapter 3

Grelle sat boredly on a rooftop as she watched her first assignment. She really shouldn’t have come straight here. It was just a kid dying from hunger in an alley, nothing interesting in the least. She read her ledger again in an attempt to stave off her boredom. It said: ‘Elijah Brown, born April 22nd 1881, death by starvation on July 2nd 1889.’ She seriously doubted she’d have any special remarks. This one was a snooze fest. 20 minute later and at last, it was time for the little thing to go. She hopped down to land right beside the boy and barely nicked him with her scythe. Just as she expected, the cinematic record was dull as well. What she didn’t expect, however, was a sneak attack from behind.

The immediate presence of someone behind her was the first thing she noticed. The second, a hand around her mouth, and the third, a sharp blade cleanly slicing her throat. She barely even had time to react before she was harshly shoved to the ground, and didn't even bother to see who her attacker was as the presence was now gone, as quickly as it had appeared. She grasped her throat as she bled out onto the pavement, only one thought in her mind as her consciousness faded: she was going to die.

Ciel was thinking about the corpse he saw in Undertaker’s shop when the carriage suddenly came to an abrupt stop. He looked out the window to see what was going on, only to see Sebastian hop off and walk into a nearby alley. What did he think he was doing? Ciel opened the carriage door and chased after his butler.

“Oi!” He called out as he approached him, but stopped when he noticed the familiar mass of red his butler was kneeling beside. Sebastian turned to him.

“Grelle Sutcliff!?” He exclaimed.

“Another indivisible corpse?” Ciel guessed, motioning towards the body.

“Not quite,” said his butler, “It is still alive, but not for long without assistance. What would you like to do, my lord?”

Ciel paused in thought, considering his options.

“Bring him to the manor and save him.” He decided. Sebastian complied with an unreadable look on his face.

The ride home was quick, but not inhumanly so. Sebastian had laid Grelle down across from Ciel, who wondered if he was really alive. His eyes were closed, he wasn't breathing, and he had the same pained expression as the corpse from earlier. Sebastian had better not let this reaper die on them.

They arrived at the back of the manor and Sebastian opened the door once more. He picked Grelle up.

“Apologies, my lord, but I must act quickly if this thing is to live.” He said quickly and left Ciel alone for the time being.

He used his demon speed to carry Grelle to one of the guest rooms. He made quick work of her vest and shirt, then assessed the damage on her throat. It was a clean cut and would be extremely easy to close up. He went to the washroom and procured a needle, thread, and bandages, returning to Grelle with them in tow. He quickly sewed up the wound and cleaned the area. He then gently lifted Grelle’s head so he could wrap her throat in the bandages and set her back down onto the pillows.

After he was done bandaging her he felt her wrist for a pulse and found a small beat. It was faint, but it meant that she would survive. She still wasn't breathing but he knew that wasn’t an issue for her kind.d. After making sure that she was okay, he began gathering the sheets and Grelle’s clothes to clean and replaced them with new, clean sheets and one of Meyrin’s sleeping gowns. Grelle would live, but he wondered if she would ever be able to speak again.

Satisfied with his work, he quietly closed the door behind him and turned his attention to Finnian, Meyrin, and Bardroy, who were watching him with curiosity from afar.

“You three.” He addressed them, which caused them to jump and then come before him, worried expressions on their faces. Finny must have seen him when they arrived and told the other servants that something had happened. Meyrin spoke up first.

“Mister Sebastian, are you alright? You’re covered in blood!” She squealed. He looked down at himself and noticed that he did indeed have a bit of blood on his sleeves and chest.

“It isn’t my blood. Listen here, everyone." He clapped his hands and the three servants straightened to attention. "We have a guest who is injured staying with us. This isn't a normal person, so I will be taking care of everything. None of you are to enter this room under any circumstances, is that clear?"

"Yes, sir!" They said in unison and then dispersed to their respective duties.

Sebastian sighed and turned back to the door to lick it just in case. The last thing he needed was for one of those buffoons to interfere.

Ciel had just gotten back to work when Sebastian entered his study once more.

"The reaper will live," he said calmly, "but I am unsure when it will wake up."

Ciel acknowledged him with a hum.

"I suppose we have no choice but to wait until he wakes to question him. Sebastian, prepare me some sweets."

"Yes, sir." He said with a bow.

William was beginning to worry. It had been nearly an entire work day and no one had seen Grelle all day, save for Ronald Knox who confirmed that she had at least gone out for her first reap, which was incomplete. Fortunately, there had been reapers nearby who'd noticed the cinematic records of her first assignment in the air and promptly collected them, but he shuddered to think of what could have happened if they'd remained free. At first, Will was irritated. Grelle knew that he had enough on his plate with missing reapers and ghosts of uncollected records becoming more frequent, why would she increase his workload like this? But as the day went on, he realized that this was no simple act of skipping on work.

Now it was almost half past 5:00 and there was still no sign of her. Due to his worry for his lover, he opted to cut the paperwork short today and search in her office for clues. He found the door unlocked, which was at least a sign that she hadn’t simply gone home. She always kept her office door locked when she was off. He stepped inside and found the room in its usual state of disarray. Pens, makeup, nail tools, and various paperweights and knickknacks littered her cherry wood desk. He remembered her coming to him to ask that her perfectly good mahogany desk be replaced because she deemed it “too boring”. He couldn’t understand her mind but he had agreed as long as she turned in her paperwork on time and neatly for the next month.

His heart ached at the thought of her eccentricities. He wouldn’t admit it, but he did miss her terribly when she didn’t barge into his office every now and then to pester him. He checked the drawers in her desk, finding all of them to be perfectly normal, except for the top right one which contained a rectangular box wrapped in a neat red bow. Suddenly, he remembered something important. Their anniversary of becoming reapers. He forgot nearly every year as he was bad with dates, but surely she hadn’t stormed off because of it? No, she would’ve expected this, and she wasn’t so irresponsible as to leave her duties unattended because of a quarrel with him. William sat down in her work chair and took in her scent which lingered in her office.

“Where are you, Grelle?” He said to no one.


	4. Chapter 4

Forty eight hours had passed since Grelle had been admitted to a guest room in the Phantomhive manor. Sebastian had been checking up on him to change his bandages that morning when he noticed he was breathing again, which was a wonderful sign of health since it was not necessary for reapers. His throat hadn’t been healing very well, which was to be expected since reapers could only be damaged with death scythes, but it looked well enough considering the situation. He would be horribly miffed at the scar, he knew, but he supposed that that was his own problem. He tapped his face a bit in an attempt to rouse him, but to no avail. Oh well. He supposed they had no choice but to wait until he awoke of his own volition.

At precisely 2:00 AM the next morning, Grelle opened her eyes. She had had horrible dreams that night. Something about a reap gone wrong, her throat being slit, and dying at the hands of some shadowy figure she couldn't quite make out. She was used to nightmares at this point, though, so she wasn’t terribly bothered. She rubbed her head and attempted to groan, but found that no noise would come out. She reached for her throat and found bandages tightly wrapped around it, and pain shot through her when she rubbed it. Now it was obvious that something was wrong. She bolted up and looked around. Where was she? This wasn’t her room. It was dark and she wasn’t wearing her glasses, but she could tell just from the fabric of her covers that the room was unfamiliar. Just as she was beginning to panic, the door to her right opened, and none other than Sebastian Michaelis stepped through holding a candelabra.

“Ah, you’re finally awake.” He said and walked to her side. She glared at him.

‘What is happening?’ She tried to say but once again nothing came out. She grasped at her throat.

“Hm, your vocal cords must be damaged. I’m not sure if they’ll eventually heal or not, seeing as I am not familiar with reapers’ healing abilities.” He set the candelabra down on the nightstand.

“You must be wondering what happened to you. You see, my master and I were out gathering information for a case when I spotted you bleeding out from your neck in an alleyway. I was ordered to save you, and so I did. You have been asleep for two days.”

She exhaled. Two days?! Oh dear, her poor William must be worried sick! And that boy she was supposed to reap, she wondered if anyone had taken care of that. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind but were interrupted by Sebastian holding out a pen and paper.

“This should help.” He said, being oddly kind to her. Grelle thought, and then wrote something down. She held the paper in front of Sebastian.

‘Did you see who attacked me?’ It said. Sebastian shook his head.

"I assumed it was a reaper due to the use of a deathscythe." He placed his chin in his hand as if thinking it through. Grelle nodded and picked up the pen once more.

‘Why did you save me?’ Sebastian smiled.

“You see,” he began, “My master is looking into a case involving reapers showing up across the country with slit throats. He wanted to question you when you woke up, as it seemed you were about to become another victim of these murders.”

Grelle pursed her lips in thought. ‘Someone tried to kill me. Not only that, it was an assassin. No murderer simply cuts throats and disappears. Which means…’

She wrote on her paper once more and showed Sebastian. It said, ‘I need to find out who is doing this.'’

“Oh?” He tilted his head. “Why don’t you nevermind all of that for now. My master can question you tomorrow and I’m sure that you’re hungry. Can you eat?”

She thought for a moment and wrote, ‘I don’t know.’

“There is only one way to know then, yes? Come with me now.” He said and took the candles once more. He held the door open for her and waited. Grelle squinted at him. 

‘Where are my glasses?’ She wrote. Sebastian made a face as if he just remembered something and dug around in the nightstand, pulling out a familiar pair of red glasses.

“There you are.” He said and offered his arm. Grelle snatched them up and placed them on her nose, finally able to take in her surroundings. She looked down at herself and noticed that she wasn't wearing her uniform, but a long nightgown. She blushed, but decided not to ask Sebastian about it. She could out two and two together and he would just make fun of her. She finally took his arm and let him lead her out of the guest room to the dining room.

The demon was being awfully kind to her, she thought. Caring for her, answering her questions, and even offering her arm? He was definitely after something.

Sebastian sat her down at the dining table and left the room, returning a second later with a dish of simple tomato soup and ice cream for dessert. Grelle found that it took considerable effort to swallow, but she was thankfully able to eat fine. She silently thanked god for that. After all, reapers needed to eat just as humans did. After she was done, he led her back to her room and tucked her back into bed. He took the paper, pen, and glasses from her and put them on the nightstand.

“I’ll leave these here.I’ll prepare you some clothes for your meeting with the master tomorrow morning, as I’m afraid the clothes you were wearing are covered in blood. Goodnight, Grelle.” He said and left Grelle in the dark. She wanted to figure out what was going on as soon as possible but her eyes were becoming terribly heavy. She went to sleep.

The next day she awoke to a sharp clap and sunlight in her eyes.

“Up, up!” Sebastian commanded as he clapped his hands together. Grelle attempted a groan which came out as more of a wheeze and slowly sat up. She yawned and grabbed her glasses.

“Before you ask, it is six am. I must prepare you to join the young master for breakfast, as you are a guest here. I have laid out an outfit for you on the dresser. I assume you can dress yourself?”

Grelle nodded, and with that, Sebastian stepped outside.

“When you are done, come to the dinner table. Take a left outside of the door and go down the hall until you reach the stairs. Once you descend, the dining room will be on your right.”

He closed the door. Grelle stretched and stood up, then looked at herself in the full length mirror. She looked like a wreck. Hair disheveled and skin pale, it was obvious that she hadn't had a bath in a few days. She wondered if she had time before breakfast, and ultimately decided that she didn't care. The butler façade was nice and all but she felt that all this "guest" business was a tad stupid. She had a reason for being here and they had a reason for keeping her, it was as simple as that. She went into the bathroom and prepared the water, funding some soap to use in a nearby cabinet. She undressed her nightgown, and she couldn't help but blush at the thought of Sebastian undressing her.

Sinking into the water was like heaven. She slid down to her shoulders but was careful not to get her bandages wet. She didn't even want to see the wound. Not to mention the horrid scar it would leave. 

'Oh well,' she thought, 'I can just cover it with makeup or a choker.'

After her bath, she dried off and brushed her long hair out, braiding it up so it wouldn't fly everywhere and would give her a nice wave. She dressed in the clothes Sebastian had given her. She would have preferred a skirt on her days off to the dress pants but she didn't mind too much. After she was properly ready and awake, she grabbed her own and paper and made her way to the dining room. The human, Ciel, was halfway done with his breakfast and an irate looking Sebastian stood behind him.

"You're late." Said the brat, immediately earning a sour look from Grelle. She wrote on her paper.

'I was bathing.' It said. She sat down at his side where her meal had been prepped and dug in to her yogurt and finely chopped berries.

"Let's talk business," said the young Earl, "I have questions and I'm sure that you do too."

Grelle nodded and took a sip from her glass.

"Sebastian has already explained your situation to me. You may keep that pen and paper and ask my butler for more should you need it. You say you can't return to your kind? Explain that."

Grelle's swallowed her bite of yogurt and wrote on her paper. She showed it to Sebastian who read it aloud.

"'A reaper tried to kill me. He was a trained assassin. I don't know what is going on, but I think something is happening within dispatch. If I go back they will kill me.'" he finished.

Ciel took a sip of tea.

"Are you aware of what's been happening lately? Reapers showing up in our world with slit throats. What can you tell me about that?" He said. Grelle wrote and passed her paper to Sebastian.

"'All I know is that reapers have been going missing. I suppose they were all killed by the same people and left in the human world. The fact that my attacker didn't finish the job means that they've purposefully been leaving the records to transform.'"

"Transform?" Ciel said, tilting his head quizzically. Grelle looked confused. When Sebastian read her next note, he held a look of surprise.

"'Didn't you two know? When cinematic records aren't properly collected, their soul clings to its memories and transforms into a ghost of sorts and haunts the area where it died. They're quite the mess to clean up.'" he read. "I was not aware of that, no. Why would reapers purposefully create more work for themselves, I wonder."

Grelle shrugged and finished her meal, politely dabbing her mouth with a napkin.

"What will you do if you can't return to dispatch? Live as a human?" Ciel asked, looking at her thoughtfully. She wrote another note.

"'I suppose I have no choice.'" he said. Ciel thought for a moment. Eventually he spoke.

"How would you like to live here as a servant then?" Both Sebastian and Grelle's jaws dropped.

"Young Master, is that such a good idea?" He said with a pained smile. "After all, this is the man that murdered Madame Red."

Grelle shot him a glare at the word "man" and Ciel gave him one for mentioning his aunt's death.

"Perhaps so," he began, "but I believe he could be invaluable in helping with this case of indivisible corpses. My personal feelings aside, I have a duty to Her Majesty to present the truth."

Sebastian sighed.

"Very good then, my lord. Well then," he turned to Grelle. "What do you say, Mister Grelle?"

Grelle considered them for a moment. Work for the brat she despised, beside a demon who might kill her at any moment? Then again, they did rescue her. And despite her personal feelings, Anne did love the little nightmare. Plus she had nowhere else to go. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad. But one thing had to be rectified. She wrote on her notepad and gave the paper to Sebastian to read.

"'I agree on one condition; you will all treat me as the woman I am, including pronouns, dress, and honorifics. No more "Mister Grelle".'"

"You aren't really in a position to negotiate." Ciel said. "But I agree nonetheless. Sebastian, figure out a position for hi-...her and introduce her to the servants. You'll need a disguise while you're staying here so your friends won't spot your obvious appearance. Figure that out on your own. Sebastian."

"Yes, my lord." He said with a bow. "Come along Grelle."

He led her back to her room, where she took a seat on the bed.

"Firstly, you won't be staying in this room any longer. You'll have to stay in the servants quarters. Since you insist on this gender business, I suppose it's only appropriate to give you your own room like our maid, but don't expect anything extravagant. Now, what position…" he thought to himself for a moment, then made an "ah ha!" noise.

"Normally I would make you a footman or a governess, but considering the circumstances, perhaps a maid would be best?"

Grelle made a face at the thought of having to do actual housework, but then considered her options. Would she rather clean or work with dirty plants or in the kitchen with that pyromaniac? The answer was clear. She nodded, hesitantly.

"That will do, then. What name should I introduce you to the other servants with?"

She thought for a moment.

'Ellen Sutcliff' said her note. Her mother’s name from her human life. That way, she’d already be familiar with it too. Sebastian must have sensed her sentimental feelings towards the name, as he looked mildly uncomfortable.

"...As you wish. I will fetch you a spare maid's uniform from Meyrin. You'll have to put up with it for now. You will begin your duties as soon as possible. I will leave you to prepare yourself."

Grelle waved him over before he could leave and wrote him a note.

'What about my glasses? They're too obvious.' It said. Sebastian lifted them from her face and turned around. Grelle tried to peek over his shoulder but he was already done. He'd used his demon skills to replace the frame of the glasses with a silver one and removed the skulls from the chain.

"There." He said. "They shouldn't be a problem anymore. I’ve taken the liberty of removing the tracking device within it as well.” He held up his finger to show her a tiny metal object before crushing it with his thumb. “Now if you'll excuse me."

He ignored her bug-eyed expression and left her alone. Grelle sighed. 'I suppose that shouldn’t come as a surprise.’ she sighed, ‘This isn't so bad considering my situation. I mean, it could be worse.'

She got up from the bed and walked to the full length mirror once again to try on her new glasses. They were quite stylish, actually. Not nearly the same fashion she would normally choose and she missed her little skulls, but they would do nicely for the new role she was already imagining for herself. She looked at her hair in the mirror and began changing her appearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :'3


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go read my fic titled "Madeline" for context on my oc who appears this chapter!
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/25251940
> 
> Also, sorry this chapter is so short. The next one will be longer.

William was beginning to panic. He had ransacked Grelle's entire office that morning when she still didn't return from her first reap of the day yesterday. He had only just returned to his office to brainstorm when he ran into two of Grelle's closest friends to his knowledge, his assistant manager Madison Jones and dispatch worker Ronald Knox. They both wore worried looks on their faces.

"Mister Spears!" Ronald called, both of them catching up to him. He put his arm on his shoulder and Will shrugged it off reflexively. "Have you seen Grelle?"

"We haven't seen her since yesterday." Said Madison, uncharacteristically emotional. "No one's heard from her at all."

Madison began to bite at her fingernails and Ronald had his hands balled up into fists. William tried not to let his feelings show on his face.

"I haven't seen her either. I've checked everywhere but her room." He pushed up his glasses. "You two are welcome to follow me if your schedules permit it. I was just heading there now."

"Yes, please!" They both nodded and followed him out of the building.

Grelle's work-assigned dormitory room was silent. The entire hallway was, in fact, due to half the reapers being in the field and the other half sleeping until their shifts started. William tried the doorknob and found it blessedly locked, which confirmed that the room hadn't been broken into. Will and Madison reached for their skeleton keys for the dormitory at the same time, but she let him use his since he was closer. He smoothly turned the lock and opened the door to a mess of red. The walls were covered in pictures and decals, the floors in various red carpets, and even the standard dormitory furniture had been replaced with red loveseats and chairs. William made a mental note to reprimand her for that later and entered to search for her.

There were no signs of life in the room. And on top that disappointment was the fact that there wasn't any sign of where she had gone either. They checked her bedroom, her closets, her loo, everyone, but there were no signs. Will met up with Ronald and Madeline in the living room.

"Did you find anything?" Asked Ronald. The other two shook their heads.

"We have no choice then. You two get to work," They opened their mouths to protest but he held up a hand to stop them. "I have to file a missing reaper report."

"Yes, sir." They both said in unison, and then left Grelle's dorm room, quietly discussing what could have happened and what to do next. Will locked the door behind him and started towards his office. He wondered what Grelle was thinking right now, wherever she was.

Before he could so much as grab a missing reapers report to begin filling out, William noticed an envelope on his desk. He picked it up to inspect it and recognised the writing of his name on the front. This was a letter from the higher ups. He quickly opened it up and read the letter inside.

'Mr. Spears

Please report to Meeting Room 1A for an emergency meeting.'

The higher ups never signed the bottom of letters, as it was always obvious who they were from. William studied the letter closely. An emergency meeting? He really didn't have time for this, but orders were orders and he had to obey if he didn't want to face serious repercussions. He sighed, threw the letter away, and began walking towards Meeting Room 1A.


	6. Chapter 6

She had just finished editing her physical appearance before Sebastian knocked three times before entering the room once more, clothes in his arms.

"Grelle, I've brought your uniform." He said as he stepped inside. He looked Grelle up and down. "Well, that should do nicely."

Grelle had changed her appearance to one somewhat similar to her butler disguise. Her hair had been turned a dark brown and pulled into a braid with her bangs swept to the left. Her eyes were now golden rather than bright yellow-green, and her teeth had been dulled to look like normal human teeth. That, combined with her new glasses, made her look like a completely different person. She was the only one who would know it, but she was nearly the spitting image of her late mother. She was always a comforting thought to Grelle, though her memory had ever so slightly faded throughout the years.

Sebastian stepped back outside to let Grelle try on her new temporary uniform. The bust was much too loose and the hip area was a bit too tight, but it wasn't too uncomfortable. In fact, Grelle thought that she looked quite pretty, though her red heels didn't quite match. She hoped a new pair of shoes would come with her new uniform. When she was done she opened the door to the hallway where Sebastian was waiting. He glanced at her, and apparently finding her appearance suitable, led her to the drawing room where three familiar figures were anxiously waiting for them. 

“You three,” he addressed them and they all straightened up after sparing a few glances at Grelle, “Starting today, we are going to have a new maid. Go ahead and introduce yourself.”

Grelle gave him a bit of a sour look but she understood what his goal was. She took her paper and pen out of one of the uniform’s pockets and wrote. ‘Hello. My name is Ellen Sutcliff. I am pleased to make your acquaintance. I cannot speak because of an injury, but I hope we can still get along and work together regardless.’ The three other servants were visibly shocked at this. The maid, Maylene if she recalled correctly, seemed especially eager to meet this new member of the Phantomhive servants. It was all over her face.

"Hello!" The short one pipes up excitedly. "I'm Finnian, the gardener. This is Bard and Meyrin."

"Er, hi." Bardroy rubbed his neck and gave her a small smile. "Welcome to the servants brigade."

"We're glad to have you join us, we are!" Said the maid. These three were exactly how she remembered them when she was losing as Madame Red's butler. She gave a little curtsey. Sebastian clapped his hands together.

"Right then, you can handle the rest, Meyrin."

"Eh? Me, sir?" She scratched her chin.

"You are the only other maid here. Please do show her the ropes and how to handle her duties."

"Yes, sir." She said, seemingly unsure. She then turned to "Ellen" and took her hand.

"Come with me, dear, I'll show you what being a maid is all about!"

As she dragged Grelle away, she glanced back at Sebastian, who gave her a wicked smirk. Grelle rolled her eyes and followed Meyrin.

Five broken plates, an overflowing sink, and a ruined staircase later, and Grelle was exhausted. Meyrin had made an honest attempt to show her all of the maid's duties, which Grelle noted couldn't possibly be for one maid alone and most likely involved help from the demon butler on the daily, complete with examples that had all gone horribly wrong in one way or another. Now it was getting dark and the two maids were sitting down with the rest of the staff for dinner since the master had already eaten. Grelle looked at the empty spot beside Bardroy.

"Oh, Sebastian doesn't usually eat with us," He said through a mouth full of roast beef. "Too busy, I reckon."

"Mister Sebastian works harder than any of us lower servants!" Said the smallest one. Grelle wrote on her notepad.

'So I've seen.' It read. She looked down at her meal and nearly salivated. Roast beef, mashed potatoes, and carrots invaded her senses. She eagerly took a bite with her dull human teeth. This was much better than what they were served at dispatch's cafeteria. That was one thing she certainly wouldn't miss while she was here. That, and the paperwork. She dearly missed William and her friends, however, and suddenly felt sick to her stomach. She couldn't just stay there in hiding while he was still in potential danger! She pushed her plate aside, wrote in her notebook, and showed it to the others.

'Excuse me.' It said and the servants all nodded. Grelle quietly left to find Sebastian.

"Poor thing must still be sore in the throat." Said Meyrin with a pout. Bard and Finny looked worried as well and the three silently finished their meals.

Grelle had barely set off on her journey when she found herself lost in one of the many hallways of the mansion. She may have been a reaper, but that didn't help with her directional sense. She squinted in the dark and held her right hand to the wall as she attempted to find Sebastian, or anyone for that matter.

Being alone with her thoughts only made her think of William and her heart ached as she walked through the mansion. He must have been so worried. And with good reason too; she'd almost been killed after all. If it weren't for Sebastian, she'd be lying dead in the human world.

Just as Sebastian entered her mind again, she felt a hand on her shoulder and would have screamed if she were able. She quickly turned around and punched the air behind her, only to have her first grabbed by none other than Sebastian himself.

"Are you lost, little one?" He said mockingly, invading her personal space. Grelle frowned at him and tried to yank her hand out of his grasp, but he held fast and pinned her to the wall. He spoke, leaning in close.

"Don't forget yourself, reaper. You're more of a prisoner than a guest here." He let go of her and she hit her head on the wall with the force of her trying to lean away from him. She hated to admit it, but he was right. A healthy demon versus an injured reaper? He could kill her in an instant if he wanted.

"Our investigation will resume tomorrow. I expect you to keep up with your duties as a maid on top of that." She eyed him but didn't move. Apparently satisfied with that, he began on his way.

"Keep going down this hall and make a right at the end. You will then reach the stairs. I trust you can find your way from there?" She nodded. Though his back was turned, he nodded as well and then disappeared into the shadows.

Grelle followed his directions and found herself in her new quarters for however long she'd be there. It was quite spacious for a servant, she thought. There was a small twin bed in the corner, a window, a nightstand, a wardrobe, a desk, and a vanity; everything a servant could need. She changes out of her maid's uniform and put on a white silk nightgown that she found in the wardrobe. Finally able to relax, she let her glamour fade, going back to her usual appearance. She approached the desk and opened the side drawer, finding pens, papers, and envelopes inside, and she took one of each to begin writing a letter. When she was done, she opened the window and called a pigeon to her. Tying the letter to it's leg, she ordered it to deliver the envelope to William T. Spears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing is hard :'3


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a short little Will chapter for ya.

William plopped himself into his chair with a sigh and rubbed his temple. He could do without these meetings on disappearing reapers that went absolutely nowhere. For now, the board wants the situation to remain top secret so as to not cause a panic amongst their ranks, which frustrated William to no end. Why do they insist on keeping it a secret when more and more reapers are going on reaps and not returning? They had already ruled out the possibility of them defecting. Defected reapers usually left their glasses somewhere where a fellow reaper could find them and get the message, but all of the previous victims' glasses had their trackers smashed and had not yet been found. He couldn't fathom what was going on in the higher ups' heads. Something must be stopping them from taking action. He closed his eyes and considered his options. On one hand, he could simply do as he's told and keep everything to himself while reapers continue to become victims. Or, he could inform his underlings on the current situation and risk his position as well as his chances of finding Grelle. He immediately decided that he couldn't risk it. Grelle was more important to him than anything right now. Besides, his staff should start realising that a good number of their coworkers have gone missing, and they'll start asking questions of their own soon enough.

Will was pulled out of his thoughts by a tapping on the glass pane of his window. He opened his eyes and looked over, finding a pigeon pecking at his window with a rolled up paper attached to its left foot. He opened it up and offered the bird his arm, who hoped on and looked up at him curiously. Taking the paper, he unrolled it and his eyes widened. This was-! He frantically read the contents.

Dearest William,

Hello, my darling. I hope this letter finds you well. As for me, I am injured but have found somewhere safe to stay, so don't worry your handsome head about me. I am sorry I can't tell you this in person, but I'm in a bit of a pickle right now. I believe that someone in dispatch tried to kill me. I didn't see them, but it was most certainly the presence of a reaper. I believe that my attacker has been doing this for some time; killing reapers I mean. So you see why I shan't be coming back in the meantime, yes?

I need you to do me a teensy favor. In my current state of hiding, I can't exactly waltz into dispatch to do investigating on the situation. So, my darling, I need you to do some investigating for me. Find out what's going on in dispatch. I'm sure you can find a way to dig around, my smart man. In the meantime, I'll be taking time to heal and do my own investigating. Do take care of yourself and the others while I'm gone.

-Grelle Sutcliff

William took heavy breathes as he read the name at the end. '-Grelle Sutcliff' She was alive. His eyes began to water despite himself and he lifted his glasses to wipe at them furiously. Now was not the time to allow emotions to get the best of him. Now was the time for action. He let the pigeon climb into his shoulder while he quickly wrote out a response and rolled it up similarly to the way Grelle had done hers. The note tied to the bird's leg, he ordered it to fly back to Grelle to deliver his letter. He then turned back to his desk and lit Grelle's note aflame so as not to leave any evidence. He had to find out what was going on in dispatch.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck writer's block all my homies hate writer's block

For the next few weeks, Grelle had the pleasure of learning the ins and outs of her co-workers more thoroughly than she could the first time she appeared before them as Grelle Sutcliff the butler. Meyrin was soft on the eyes and obviously tenderhearted in more ways than one. Grelle thought she'd be quite the catch if it weren't for her clumsiness and, well, stupidity. It was a shame, she thought, because otherwise she might pursue her- but as it happened, she wasn't her type. Bardroy, on the other hand, was a lot closer. Tall, mysterious, handsome- and that blonde hair and stubble that reminded her of one of her past lovers! He was nearly a dreamboat, if it weren't for his obnoxious personality and… "extreme" hobbies. Mostly involving fire. And gunpowder. Loudness must've been an American trait. And then there was sweet little Finnian. That boy was such a cutie in Grelle's eyes. She didn't ask, but he couldn't be older than seventeen. His proneness to making mistakes and then crying over them made Grelle's heart ache with maternal instincts. She had met Tanaka a few times and saw him lounging about the manor frequently, but other than that they barely spoke. He was simply a silly old man to her.

Despite their individual quirks unusual behavior, however, Grell found them to be quite kind to her. She almost felt like a new adopted sibling in a family of misfits. Meyrin would gush over Sebastian to her during their breaks, Bard would treat her like a proper lady, sneaking her a sweet every now and then when he realised that she was partial to them, and Finny would cry on her shoulder when he would accidentally kill a plant or track mud into the manor, and she would help him settle the mess before Sebastian noticed. Tanaka was… well, Tanaka.

Grelle only saw the young master when they were working on his case from the queen as she was specifically instructed by Sebastian to stay out of his way as much as possible, and after their encounter in the hallway the other day, she was hesitant to cross him. It was difficult; every cell in her body wanted to flirt and annoy the demon as soon as she got used to her new surroundings, but she was weakened and he was much stronger than her, so she obeyed him for the time being.

She had to admit that the members of the household made a nice little family from what she saw. She saw the little smile Ciel would give them when he thought she wasn’t looking. He still loathed her for her crimes, but he was at least putting up with her for the time being, though it was obvious that he didn’t want her there and only let her stay for the sake of the investigation. It was obvious to Grelle that they all loved each other very much. Part of her almost wished she could be a part of it… but she had better things to worry about at the moment.

She and William had been exchanging letters for a few weeks now. It had started with “How are you?”s and concern for each other’s well-being, before evolving into an exchange of intel from both the human realm and the reaper realm. William kept an eye out at dispatch for anything unusual and Grelle did the same on her outings with Sebastian and his master. Everything seemed to be normal on her end so far, but at dispatch things were getting hectic. Reapers continued to disappear at an alarmingly consistent rate, and the board had decided not to ignore it anymore. Every reaper on dispatch duty was ordered to only leave the realm while accompanied by a companion and to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. This meant that reap times were cut in half, which only led to more paperwork and a sense of unease amongst the office. William had told Grelle that it felt like something was about to explode within the dispatch with all the tension in the air. Through their letters, they hatched a plan together. William couldn't move very well due to his position and piles of work he had to do, but Grelle had the advantage of being "dead" and could therefore moved as she pleased, so long as she disguised herself well. Grelle had no problem with this whatsoever, being highly skilled at changing her appearance and ready to take action.

It was now the night before she was planned to infiltrate dispatch and Grelle was antsy. What if something went wrong? What if she was recognised? She'd be questioned by the higher ups at the very least, but she had a feeling that she wouldn't last long before she was assassinated again, and this time for good.

She paced around her room back and forth restlessly. Figuring that the noise might be keeping her neighbor up, however, she opted to head outside into the cool summer air to let off some steam. She broke through large rocks, pinched at trees and practiced her kicks in the air, all while wearing her pyjamas. She had just begun to work up a sweat when she heard the door she had come through open up with a creak. Quickly, she ran her fingers through her hair, turning it brown. She didn't have time to flatten her teeth so she simply gave the approaching figure a closed mouth smile. Meyrin came out through the shadows, also in her nightgown but with a shawl around her shoulders.

"You can't sleep?" She asked, looking her over with concern in her brown eyes.

Grelle reached for her paper, but remembered that she left it in her room, so she simply shrugged at her. Meyrin nodded understandingly. She sat on the garden bench near them and Grelle joined her.

"I know this manor can be a lot to take in, even after a few weeks," she started, "but we really do enjoy your company here!"

She looked down at her hands. Grelle just watched her and listened.

"It's nice having another woman here for a change. I-I mean, the others are wonderful, but they are just some things they can't understand, you know? But we all know how it feels… to come from a rough past."

She paused to take Grelle's hands in hers and look her in the eye.

"I just want you to know that we're all here for you, no matter what your past is. You're one of us now."

She smiled and Grelle couldn't help but give a heartfelt one of her own. Suddenly, Meyrin yawned, taking her hands away from Grelle.

"Oh dear, it's getting late isn't it? Goodnight, Miss Ellen." She said with a smile and then disappeared back into the manor.


	9. CHapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing is hard
> 
> Hopefully the next chapter will be soon though :)

Grelle closed the door to her bedroom behind her and let out a breath she hadn't noticed she'd been holding. The people here were certainly kind; something Grelle could appreciate but wasn't used to in the slightest. Detest, annoyance, anger; she could deal with. Empathy? Sympathy? She blushed and put a hand to her cheek.

"What's that look for?" Came a voice to her right that scared her half to death. She might have screamed if it weren't for her current vocal predicament. Her head darted towards the voice and she found Sebastian smiling at her. She glanced at him, then her notebook, and he followed her eyes.

"Ah, don't bother with that," he said as he took a step closer, "this won't require words from your end just yet."

She took a step back, not trusting him in the least, and wondered what he was scheming. Sebastian apparently read the look on her face.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," suddenly right behind her, he wrapped his long arms around her middle and whispered in her ear, "unless you’d like me to."

Grelle jumped in surprise at his actions. She was expecting another ambush, a show of power, not… this. The demon ran his hands over his body, settling on her hips. Normally, Grelle might have easily given up to the temptation that he was presenting her with on a silver platter, but right now the situation was too dire for things like this. Sure, she was extremely anxious about tomorrow’s break in, and sure, she had been secretly longing for this ever since she met the conniving butler, but now all she could think of William. He’d likely never trust her again if she gave in, and that was something she wouldn’t be able to handle. Not now, not ever. Besides, she knew better than to think that he genuinely wanted this. He was after something in return. Most likely information about her realm or stolen records. Grelle would have none of this. She turned around in his grasp, and he went to embrace her, but was met with a look of pure unamusement. He could read the expression on her face easily enough without her notepad. He frowned.

“This is unexpected,” he started, then continued to forcibly grab her hair and tip her chin up to land a heated kiss on her mouth. Grelle froze on the spot. He separated from her after a brief moment and opened his mouth to speak again. “Perhaps a taste is enough to-”

He was interrupted by a surprisingly strong smack to his cheek. He turned to look at Grelle with an unamused look on his face, and was a bit taken aback by her furious expression. Perhaps that was a bad idea. She summoned her scythe, and faced him with it without turning it on as a silent threat. Sebastian accepted her message well enough apparently. Without a word, he left out the window where he had entered. She watched him go and relaxed when the window closed behind him, dismissing her scythe. She exhaustedly trotted to her bed and plopped down, one hand thrown over her eyes. She had a bad feeling about this.


End file.
